


Longshot

by redboned



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 08:53:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11733747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redboned/pseuds/redboned
Summary: Robert and Aaron never got back together after the pregnancy reveal. 16 years later, Robert's a (relatively) good dad, Aaron's still a grump with a heart of gold and, shock horror, Rob's still really not over him.I've finished writing this so it should all be up by the end of the week!





	1. Did you hear that?

“Did you hear the door?”

“What?” he was breathless and really not prepared for any distractions “it's probably nothing, don't worry!” he leaned in to resume their kiss until she put her hand against his chest.

“Jake!” she whispered frantically “Listen! I think your dad's back” and after a couple of seconds, he heard keys land in a bowl.

“Shit!”

“What are we gonna do?” Jake got up and started putting his t-shirt back on. The first time in the night he was happy to still be wearing his jeans.

“Get dressed. I'll tell him we were just watching a film or summat and then we can go.” she nodded, smoothing her hair and searching for her clothes while Jake slid into the hall. He tried his best at a saunter into the living room. Totally casual, not suspicious. Maybe he could sneak Gemma out? Depends on his dad's mood. He didn't look too stressed, a bit tired, but still pretty relaxed.

“Hey, dad. I thought you were staying overnight in Manchester?” Robert was casually going through the post and heading towards to kettle to make a hard earned brew.

“I finished at three so I th- Hang on. Aren’t you supposed to be camping?” He finally looked up at his son: dishevelled, suspicious and trying far too hard to be charming. “Oh, God.” He moved his hands to his hips and rolled his eyes as his sighed “Gemma, I know you’re here so let’s not do anymore sneaking about!”

“Hi, Mr Sugden” she shuffled out sheepishly, t shirt not quite on right and hoody in hand.

He turned to his son “So this entire camping trip was a giant ruse, was it?”

“No! We were camping, but Danny couldn’t get the cooker thing working so we just came to grab some food!”

“I didn’t realise I’d stopped storing food in the kitchen and moved the pantry to into your bedroom” he quipped. Gemma shuffled to find her phone in an effort not to combust from embarrassment.

“Dad! Leave it! We’re going back now anyway!” he was about to head to the door when Gemma piped up.

“Actually Ellie’s just text me. The tents have all got waterlogged or something. Everyone’s heading home.” Robert sighed. He’d already had a long day and didn’t really fancy lecturing two sixteen year olds about responsibility or whatever you were supposed to do when you caught your son clearly up to no good so he abandoned any attempt at a lecture for the moment.

“Have you two eaten? I’m starving. Let’s get in a pizza or something and then I can drive you both home?”

“Mum and Andrew are having some date night or something tonight so can I stay here?”

“Yeah, course. Text her, though. I don’t want her to think I’m completely irresponsible parent.” He grabbed his car keys “Gemma, you fancy pizza?”

“Actually,” she started, pre-empting the most awkward dinner of her life, “it’s probably best for me to go home, if that’s okay?”

“Sure” he really didn't fancy having a talk about this with his son, let alone his girlfriend so he was kind of grateful she decided against staying. “And you” he nodded at Jake “better decide what you want. I’m too hungry to sit and wait half an hour for you to um and ah at the shop, alright?” Jake smiled.

The car ride probably would have been more awkward were Robert not absolutely exhausted. As it was, Jake and Gemma sat in the back, red faced, whispering and occasionally snorting with laughter.

“Here we are, Gemma” Robert pulled his car up to her house. As she opened the door, she muttered a goodbye to Jake who grabbed her to give her a goodbye kiss. After 15 seconds of straight eye rolling, Robert finally spoke up “Alright, Romeo and Juliet, that’s enough. You’re going to have to come up for air at some point!” Gemma smiled at Jake.

“Bye, Jake. Thanks for the lift, Mr Sugden” as she headed inside, Jake slid into the front seat. He’d heard his dad complain about not being a taxi driver enough to realise avoiding sitting up front would cause more awkwardness, not less.

 

“I’ve text mum that I’m staying at yours.”

“Good.” Robert didn’t know what else to say. He needed to say something, right? Maybe he could avoid it forever?

“You’re not…are you going to tell her?”

“If she asks, I won’t lie to her, but I won’t bring it up.” He sighed “were you safe?”

“Dad! I really don’t want to talk about this!”

“And I certainly didn’t want to walk in on it, but here we are!”

“Right, fine! Yes, we were safe”

“Good. That’s the end of it then!” he pulled into their favourite pizza place and turned off the engine. “You want a sprite or a coke or something?” he said as he searched for his wallet.

“I could do with a Stella” he smiled

“You could do with a lobotomy if you think that’ll work” Robert deadpanned and Jake laughed. His dad headed into Bella Pizza and Jake fiddled with his phone.

_G: How long are you grounded for?_

_J: So far I’m not! I’m so sorry he came home. I really loved tonight_

_G: Me too x_

He was about to reply when he was startled out of it by a knock at his window.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Is, er, is your dad around?”

“He's gone into the takeaway. He won't be long. Do you need some help?” 

“Yeah, I just need to-”

“Aaron” he saw his dad coming out with a giant pizza and a couple of bottles of coke “are you okay?” His dad dropped his stuff on the back seat and walked round to see Aaron.

“My car needs a jumpstart. Can you –“

“Yeah! Yeah, of course. Lead the way” Robert was embarrassed by how eager he must have sounded. Well, he maybe he just realised he should have been, but he was always eager when it came to Aaron.

Jake noticed his dad looking jittery on the short journey to his car, looking in the rear view mirror into the backseat as Aaron directed them back to his car, but before he could say anything, his dad had leapt out of the car. Aaron grabbed some cables and Robert lifted the bonnet of the car. Less than five minutes of fiddling and Aaron’s car was up and running. Jake quietly lowered his own window to try and hear some of his dad’s conversation.

“Well, thanks for the help.”

“It was nothing. Just good timing, I think” Robert grinned, but dropped it when he saw Aaron was looking at the ground rather than his face.

“See you around, Rob”

“Yeah, see you.” He stood and watched Aaron drive away. Once he was safely out of sight, he sighed and leant against his car door until he remembered Jake was sat in the front seat. God, he’d hoped his son wouldn’t bring it up. He avoided conversations about Aaron when he was well rested and well fed, let alone right now.

“Right,” he smiled as he climbed into the car “I’m starving. Best get going, eh?” Jake nodded as his dad started heading back home. They sat quietly for a while. His dad concentrating much harder than necessary on the road.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m just tired. I was planning on spending tonight in front of the telly, not as your taxi driver.” He smiled.

“Or as Aaron’s mechanic?” Robert’s jaw clenched at that one. He didn’t know where this conversation was going, but he knew he didn’t want it to go much further.

“I haven’t been a mechanic for a while, but I’m not sure jumpstarting a car counts.” They stayed in silence for the rest of the journey.

His dad had a few relationships while he was around, nothing longer than a year. Wait, maybe Hannah was closer to a year and a half? He didn’t meet them very often; his father seemingly desperate to keep his girlfriends and his son very separate. If the village and Home Farm gossip was anything to go by, he was pretty sure there had been a couple of flings with guys too, but his dad was even more private about those. Jake knew about Aaron, though. Not all the gory details- he knew they’d had an affair and were kind of married for a bit. He also knew their break up and his birth seemed to coincide. He also knew his dad barely mentioned him, even in passing, but every so often, Jake got a little snapshot of his dad’s last serious relationship. When he was thirteen, there was a small fire at The Woolpack. He’d never seen his dad as quietly distraught as when he saw a semi-conscious Aaron being bundled into an ambulance. He was almost certain that that’s when Louise stopped coming round. He’d never really had the nerve to ask about any of his dad’s relationships and even when he did, the most he got was some platitude and a comment on treating the people you love well.

“You coming in?” Jake was snapped out of his thoughts when they got back to the house. He nodded and grabbed the pizza from the backseat. “Thought I’d lost you there for a minute” his dad smiled as he unlocked the door. “Right, you grab some glasses and I’ll grab a couple of plates.”

 ***

After they were settled around the kitchen island, Jake decided he wanted to broach the subject.

“Did I tell you Abbie’s dad is getting married?”

“Oh, when?” Robert wasn’t particularly interested, but Jake had been quiet after they’d run into Aaron.

“November, I think Yeah, he did some online dating thing. Maybe you should give it a go?” Robert let out a laugh.

“Are you trying to marry me off?”

“Abbie says her dad’s never been happier. What’s wrong with trying it?”

“Who says I’m not happy?” Robert gave Jake a smile despite already hating where this conversation was going.

“I’m not saying you’re unhappy, but mum’s got Andrew and Auntie Vic’s got Adam and Aunt Chris has Jamie! You haven’t had a girlfriend or whatever for ages. What’s wrong with wanting you to have someone?”

“Jake, it’s my job to be concerned about you, not the other way around. You really don’t need to worry about me; I’m fine as I am!”

“But wouldn’t you be even happier to have someone to share stuff with?”

“Not everyone needs someone around all the time to be happy, Jake!”

“I’m saying go for a coffee, not getting surgically attached!” Jake seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated so Robert tried to lighten the mood and end the conversation all at once.

“Okay, if I meet someone single and interesting, I’ll treat them to Bob’s finest at the caf, alright?” he smiled. Jake grabbed another slice of pizza and took a couple of bites while contemplating his next comment.

“Aaron’s interesting and he’s been single for a while” Robert’s face hardened at that and he looked down at his plate.

“It’s getting late. I’m gonna clean up and we should both be thinking about going to bed.”

“Are you just going to pretend I didn’t say anything?”

“I’m tired, Jake. I’m really not in the mood to entertain this right now.”

“Maybe if you’re still this cagey after 16 years, you should do something about it” Jake offered while putting his plate in this dishwasher. Robert was really starting to lose his patience. “I don't mind you being with a bloke, if that's what it is.”

“I’m going to bed, and I really suggest you do the same. Now, please.”

“I’m just saying th- “

“Now, Jake!” he bellowed. Jake slammed the dishwasher and then slammed his bedroom door. ‘Fantastic work, Robert’ he thought to himself. ‘Really brilliant fucking work.’

 


	2. Counting Sheep

He really hadn’t meant to raise his voice. He’d been up for about nineteen hours. His meeting had gone well, but it was exhausted; and then the drive home was a nightmare; not to mention coming home to a house filled with horny teenagers. That would’ve been enough without running into Aaron. He looked good too. Shit, he always did when Robert was looking frazzled. He’d heard through the grapevine that Aaron’s latest relationship had ended. For the first few years, Aaron breaking up with a guy meant him turning up on Robert’s doorstop, a brief conversation about how they always found their way back to one another, the best nights of Robert’s life, finally followed by a painful realisation in the cold light of day: they couldn’t make it work. Aaron would apologise and they would go back to avoiding eye contact whenever they happened to see each other out and about in the village. Aaron had had a few relationships since Robert. One of them lasted seven years. Seeing Aaron happy is all Robert wanted, but he still felt that twinge of jealousy whenever he saw him happy with someone else. He really wasn't in the mood for the “it gets better speech” from his teenage son either.

  
Fuck. He’d got himself all worked up; fighting with his son was bad enough without the addition of Aaron and now he couldn’t sleep. Thank god it was Friday night, well Saturday morning technically. He got up to put on some warm milk. Christ, he really was getting old. He put the mug back into the cupboard and instead decided on a walk. He left a note for Jake, not that he expected him to be getting up, and quietly left the house.  
He’d been walking pretty aimlessly for about twenty five minutes and found himself in one of the fields overlooking the village. He was starting to regret not bringing a bigger coat when he was pulled out of his thoughts by a dog barking close by. He turned to see a patchy furred Alsatian towards him and saw Aaron climbing the hill after him. Jesus, he could kill Jake for making him think about Aaron tonight. That’s when Aaron noticed him.

  
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be up here.”

  
“Neither was I.” They were both avoiding eye contact and Robert was getting ready to make his excuses to go when Aaron piped up.

“He really looks like you, doesn’t he?”

“My hair might be thinning, but I don’t have bald patches just yet” Robert tried to joke nodding towards the dog, but lost his smile as he looked at Aaron, unimpressed.

“Rober-“

“I know. It’s crazy. His hair is much less embarrassing than mine was at his age. I’m pretty sure I was abusing hair wax and styling my mullet back in the day.”

“Don’t feel too bad. Your hair was quite embarrassing in your twenties and thirties too” Robert turned to face Aaron who was looking straight ahead, smile threatening to split his face in two. Robert couldn’t help but laugh.

“Some of my shirts were unforgivable too”

“Yeah, well. At his age, I was shoving my socks into my trackies. At least you were probably wearing jeans.”

“Yeah, I think they were acid wash.”

“Yikes, truly hopeless!” and that really had Robert giggling. They stayed next to each other in silence for about ten minutes before Robert braved speaking.

“What are you doing out here so late?”

“Tommy’s been ill the past couple of days and he’s suddenly feeling better and in need of a walk. So what’s your excuse?”

“Long day. Got myself stressed out and thought I’d walk it out so I could sleep.”

“Come on” Aaron starting walking away and Tommy dutifully followed, “if you stay out here much longer, you’ll freeze to death.” Robert decided to catch up to Aaron.

Their silence was broken about five minutes away from the village.

“Did Liv email you yet?”

“I haven’t checked my email since this morning. Is she okay?” she might be past 30, but Robert was still panicking about her.

“Relax, Rob, she’s fine. Her and Kelly and have decided to foster a kid.” Robert smiled.

“You did a great job with Liv. You really should be proud.”

“The only person who should take credit for who Liv’s become is Liv.”

“You know how much you helped her, Aaron” Robert said sincerely. Aaron just nodded. He was proud, but he also knew Robert wasn’t going to let him win this argument. By the time they were almost at his house, Robert was yawning profusely.

“Good to see you’re feeling better.”

“Huh?”

“Weren’t you walking to try and fall asleep?”

“Oh, yeah. Well, I better head back to mine. Thanks for your help, Aaron.”

“What help?”

“Maybe it’s just hard to be stressed around you” Aaron smiled before he caught himself.

“See you around, Rob.”

It wasn’t until he returned home he realised how cold he really was. He took off his coat, let out a shiver, threw away the note he left for Jake and headed for bed. 1:47am. Shit. Thank God he didn’t have anything to do tomorrow.


	3. Like Father, Like Son

Robert finally surfaced at around half ten. Jake had spent the entire morning working himself up. What if his dad was still upset with him? How could he still be avoiding him? It just seemed like a little fight! Those fears fell away a little when he saw how well rested his dad looked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Is there coffee on?” Jake nodded “Ahh, I knew I kept you around for something.” And Jake laughed at that. “You eaten breakfast?”

“Yeah, just had some toast.”

“Good. So what are your plans for today? Thought we could head into Leeds, get some food and get you some new clothes?”

“Get me some new clothes?”

“Well, I can always browse too.” Robert smiled.

“I have to go for some dinner with mum and Aunt Chrissie. One of the Home Farm clients has a good work experience placement I want. I’m sorry, dad.”

“Don’t be sorry! This’ll be good for you! I do have to mention last night. Look, I won’t run and tell your mum, but this isn’t a house of ill repute, okay?” Jake nodded, already embarrassed, “but if you insist on, you know,” he was glad his dad was embarrassed by this conversation too. It meant it wouldn’t last “Please just make sure you’re safe. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. You’re too young to start getting bogged down with babies and ruining your life��.”

“Ruining my life?” Robert had only meant it as an offhand comment, but Jake was still feeling a bit sensitive. He’d wound himself up after their fight, thinking his dad was avoiding him. Had Robert had his coffee, he might have heard the wobble in his son’s voice. Alas, he instead decided to proceed with all the grace, tact and delicacy of a bull in a china shop.

“With a baby.”

“Like I ruined your life?”

“What?”

“It sounds like you’re talking from experience. I mean, I wasn’t planned, was I? So I ruined your life?”

“Jake, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Me telling you that you’re too young to have a baby isn’t me saying you ruined my life!”

“You screamed at me yesterday and now I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”

“I should never had raised my voice to you! How did we get here, hey? We were just trying to arrange a day out!” Robert was as upset as he was exasperated, but everything he said seemed to be making it worse.

“We got here because you think I’m a mistake” Jake was gathering his phone and headphones and heading towards the door.

“Hey, hey! Let me dressed and I’ll drive you, if you really want to go somewhere!” Robert said softly, desperately trying to calm Jake down.

“Don’t worry, I’ll walk! I don’t want you to go to any more trouble in fobbing off your mistake!” The front door slammed. Robert sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose, grabbed his phone and headed to his room to get dressed.

“Robert, please make sure he’s here for about two. We’ve got to get his suit sorted for this dinner tonight.”

“He’s just stormed out, that’s why I’m calling. I think he’s heading to yours, but you might want to drive down and meet him part way. He’s really upset.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t really know. I said he was too young to have a baby and he decided I was calling him a mistake who ruined my life.”

“Why were you even talking about him having a baby?!”

“He’s 16, I’m just trying to make sure he thinks responsibly! I don’t hear you driving, Bex!”

“Give him some time to cool down. If he’s not here in an hour, I’ll drive around. Okay?”

“Fine. Bye, Bex”

“He’ll be okay, Robert. Try not to worry. See you later.” She was probably right, but he really didn't want to leave Jake this upset with him. There were few things that bothered him as much as his son being mad at him, even if he didn't feel like he deserved it.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, shrugged on his jacket and bounded out of the house. He looked to see if there was any sign of Jake. None. About five minutes into his frantic search, he spotted Tommy knowing his owner wouldn’t be far behind.

“Have you seen Jake?”

“Not since last night. Is everything alright?”

“He stormed off and I don’t know where he’s gone and I just need to make sure he’s okay.” He was running his fingers through his hair, looking up and down the road in hopes of a clue about his son's whereabouts.

“What happened?”

“My mouth engaged before my brain. What else is new?” Aaron gave him a sympathetic smile, “will you just let me know if you see him, please?” Aaron nodded and watched as Robert continued his desperate search for his son. He carried on towards the scrap yard.

He’d decided to take a shortcut through the fields up to the scrapyard. In part, so Tommy could run wild and wear himself out (Aaron wanted to work in peace), but mainly to avoid any more village drama. About ten minutes from the scrapyard, he spotted a familiar mop of blonde hair, sat chewing his nails. Aaron sighed, made his way over and sat on the grass next to him.

“Your dad’s giving himself high blood pressure worrying about where you’ve gone.”

“So now he’s father of the year? Probably telling everyone I’m a terrible kid!”

“Well, I don’t know what he’s said to anyone else, but he told me whatever happened was his fault.”

“Really?” Jake tried to look disinterested, but he was honestly kind of touched.

“Really.”

“Did he tell you he called me a mistake? That I ruined his life?”

“He said that, did he?” now it was Aaron’s turn to feign disinterest. He knew better than anyone how nasty Robert could be, but he really had seem to soften once his son arrived.

“Well, he implied it!”

“Ah,” Aaron nodded “you should know by now that your dad sometimes talks without thinking.” Jake looked ready to run or shout before Aaron quickly added “but it’s not fair he made you feel that way.”

“Well, maybe he's right to be angry with me. I’m the reason you left him, aren’t I?” It was out of his mouth before he even realised. The apple really didn’t fall far from the tree. Aaron swallowed, this really was not how he was planning on spending his Saturday.

“You’re not to blame for anything between your dad and me. I don’t know who told you that you are, but I’m telling you that they were wrong.” Jake clenched his jaw and just stared ahead of them as Aaron pulled himself up off the grass. “Come on.”

“What?”

“Your dad’s worried sick. You can have him or your mum pick you up from the yard, but your parents need to know you’re okay.”

 

 

“So which one are you calling?” Aaron asked while handing Jake a cup of tea. He’d had to make a couple of calls once they’d arrived at the yard, and he’d noticed Jake hadn’t touched his phone. Jake sighed hoping he could just sneak out in a bit. “I’ve got to sort that van out. Call one of them before they have a heart attack.”

He’d been working on the rusted out ice cream van for about twenty minutes when he heard a car speeding onto the gravel. He was surprised to see Robert leaping out of his car. Jake meandered out of the porta cabin still visibly furious with his father.

“Jake, I was so worried!”

“Well, I’m fine. Aaron made me call you” Robert was still feeling strange about Aaron after last night. Kind of hopeful maybe? Maybe Aaron wanted to see him too?

“I told him to call one of his parents.” Aaron corrected while still busying himself with the van. He didn’t noticed Robert’s falter, but Jake did. He took that as a cue to grab his charger and wash up his mug as quickly as possible.

“Thanks for having him call.”

“I told you I would if I saw him,” Aaron smiled “I think you’ve still got some grovelling to do” Robert let out a chuckle at that.

“Yeah, I think so too. Was he okay? No trouble?”

“Better than either of we were as teenagers,” Aaron smiled again and Robert couldn’t help but grin back. As Jake came out of the cabin, Robert tore his eyes away from Aaron who had gone back to working on the van in front of him.

“Thanks for the tea, Aaron and the chat” Jake said as he walked towards the car.

“Try to keep your dad’s blood pressure down in future.” The rain started spotting then. Aaron sighed and pulled up his hood.

“Thanks, Aaron” Robert added “come on, Jake. We’ve distracted Aaron long enough.”

 

 

 


	4. Storms and Stress

“So what was your chat about? With Aaron?” Robert hadn’t meant for it to just come out, but he’d been so worried all morning, he could barely contain himself. They’d gone for a coffee before braving Home Farm. Robert thought it was best to try and apologise some more before sending him back to his mum. Jake didn’t know what to say to his dad’s blurted question. Aaron had really put his fears to rest, but his dad’s looks to him at the scrapyard had brought them all bubbling back up.

“Am I the reason you and Aaron aren’t together?” his dad’s jaw clenched at that.

“Did he tell you that?” Robert was furious at the idea of Aaron trying to push any of their problems onto Jake. No matter how he felt about Aaron, his first duty now was to protect his son. 

“No, he said I wasn’t, but if I wasn’t here, you’d be with him, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s brought all this on?” He couldn't deny the relief he felt. That was followed by the pang of guilt he felt for even thinking Aaron would take anything out on Jake. 

“You were a nervous wreck when you helped him yesterday and then you talking about ruining your life and-“

“Jake, I never meant to make you think you were a mistake. I just spoke without thinking! You really don’t have to worry about me, bud.” Jake seemed to calm down slightly. Both Aaron and Robert had really helped still his fear just a little bit.

“I just want you to be happy, dad.” Robert clenched his jaw. He didn’t even like to think about his history with Aaron let alone discuss it with his son.

“Aaron and I had a lot of problems. None of them were your fault.”

“That’s what he said?”

“So why are you worrying yourself mad?”

“Everyone says you're still in love with him so if it's not me, why can't you two bear to be in the same room?”

“I don’t…I mean…Look, love isn’t the be all end all of relationships. Sometimes, it’s not enough. Aaron’s happier now than he ever was in that marriage.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.” The rain was really starting to pummel down now and as Robert pulled into Home Farm, Jake decided to brave another question.

“It’s been years. If you still care this much, maybe you should just-”

“I know you want what’s best, but some things really are best left buried. Now you best get in quick before you get soaked.”

 

As he approached the village, the rain was beating down so hard, he could barely see out of his car, but he still managed to see him. Soaked to the skin.

“Need a ride?” he smiled while leaning towards the passenger’s side of his car.

“Unfortunately, I’ve got company” Aaron said while nodding at his equally sodden dog.

“Well,” Robert grimaced “this car needs cleaning anyway”. Aaron raised his eyebrows, and Robert opened the passenger’s side door. “You better get in before I change my mind.” Aaron opened the back door to let Tommy hop in the back. Robert could already tell it would take months to get that smell out of his car. It was worth it when Aaron sat himself in the front and smiled at him.

“Well, drying him off is going to be fun without the power.”

“What do you mean?”

“Power cut. Started about twenty minutes ago.”

“Shit, I was planning a Netflix binge tonight.”

“Well, I was planning on not freezing to death so we’ve both got it tough.” Aaron said lightly. Robert hesitated. He really wasn’t sure how Aaron would take this.

“I could…Look, I’ve got that proper wood fire. I’m not sure how to use it, but”

“Thanks, but I can’t let him ruin your car and your house in one night.”

“It’s the least I can do after you managed to talk my son into actually speaking to me.” Aaron gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Then I guess we don’t have much choice. I better get your house stinking of scrapyard dog” he grinned and Robert beamed back.

 


	5. Wet Dogs and Real Wood Fires

The second they walked through the door, Tommy shook himself off. Before Robert could even consider being annoyed, he heard Aaron giggle.  
“Can we have some towels?” Robert ran to the airing cupboard to grab some towels: the softest he had for Aaron and a couple of his rattier ones for Tommy. He came down to a half dressed Aaron trying to move his dog from Robert’s favourite rug.

  
“Leave him be, if he’s happy and quiet.” Aaron nodded, surprised, but definitely not planning on arguing.  
“Shit, I need some clothes.”

  
“I’ll get you something.” He grabbed some joggers, a t shirt, a hoody, some boxers (wait, was that too much? Well, maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry) and a pair of socks. He came down to Aaron drying off Tommy in front of the still unlit fire. “Here you are.” He placed the pile of clothes on top of the arm of the sofa.

  
“Thanks.” Aaron smiled.

“I better try and figure out how this works now, eh?” Robert walked towards the fireplace looking sort of puzzled. He shuffled a bit of wood around and threw on a match. “Hmm”

Aaron stared at him while drying his hair.

“You’re not serious?”

“I told you I’d never used it before!” Aaron laughed at him “look, central heating works well enough, Aaron” he chuckled. Aaron grabbed the clothes from the sofa.

“I’m going to get dressed and then I’ll sort it out” he said it lightly, but Robert still felt a twinge of disappointment in himself.

 

Aaron padded into the living room and was surprised to see a small fire and a very proud Robert,

“Well, colour me shocked.”

“I’m full of surprises, me” and Aaron smiled at that. 

“You got any food in here” Robert nodded and headed into the kitchen, grabbing as much food as he could carry.

“Mm, thanks. Since when do you like barbeque?”

“Ugh, I don’t!” Robert scrunched his nose in disgust as Aaron opened the packet “Jake’s obsessed with the stuff”

“Even the good kids manage to find ways to punish their parents, then?” Aaron was starting to remember why they avoided each other. It was so easy to fall back into old ways. 

“Thanks for looking out for him today.”

“I told you I would.”

“Still, thank you.”

“He seems worried about you.” Aaron was too, but he wasn't planning on mentioning that or the niggling thoughts about him at the back of his mind all day.

“Really?”

“He brought us up” he noticed Robert’s jaw clench at that.

“He brought it up with me too. I’m sorry, I didn’t ask for…I didn’t” he sighed and turned to face Aaron “I’ll make sure he steers clear.”

“So this morning you ask me to keep an eye out and now you’re what? Hoping he never speaks to me again?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” it’s like he can’t speak today without getting it wrong “I just don’t want him to cause any upset. He’s a good kid, but sometimes he gets something in his head and he’s like a dog with a bone!” Aaron could see how flustered he was getting and tried to lighten the mood.

“I wonder where he gets that from” he smiled and Robert laughed.

 

 

They were sat in front of Robert’s laptop watching some random 00s sitcom Aaron had never heard of, but Robert had on DVD while Tommy curled in front of the fire. Aaron used the distraction to try and actually talk to Robert.

“You are happy, though. Aren’t you, Rob?”

“Yeah, why? Don’t I seem happy” he looked over at Aaron.

“Your son thinks you’re not. You were wandering through some fields after midnight…”

“One bad day doesn’t mean I’m miserable” he smiled at Aaron “you don’t need to worry about me, Aaron.”

“Not being miserable isn’t being happy,” Aaron got up to grab a couple of beers and headed back to the sofa “and I’m always gonna worry about you” Aaron said as he handed him a beer. Robert swallowed and smiled. They hadn’t been alone like this in a couple of years. Twenty six months, actually Aaron had broken up with Joel a couple of weeks earlier. Nothing long term, Robert had only seen him around for five months, maybe six. One evening, Aaron had turned up with some excuse, he didn’t remember exactly what it was, but this had happened enough that they both knew what was going to happen. They’d made some conversation, Robert always made sure Aaron made the first move. In this case, it was a hand on his cheek that Robert couldn’t help but melt into, a kiss that led to another, that led to the peeling off of clothes, a move upstairs, a few ‘I love yous’ during the best sex Robert had had since the last time Aaron was here, followed by Robert desperately trying to stay awake and remember every detail before the inevitable “We don’t work, Robert. I'm really sorry” in the morning. Right now, he was torn between longing and self-preservation. Jake asking about Aaron had made him more sensitive than usual.

“Thank god, we’re almost in peace.” Robert looked confused “from this tosh you put on.” He looked at the laptop: 7% remaining. Please Connect Charger. Robert nodded.

“Do you want me to go?” Aaron was worried he had overstayed his welcome or maybe misjudged his joke. Robert shook his head.

“No, I want you to stay.” Robert was contemplating being brave; grabbing his hand, asking him to stay the night, just…something, when the TV turned on, the microwave beeped and every appliance started their quiet hum.

“Ah, looks like I can stop imposing on you. Shit!” He noticed the muck Tommy had left all over Robert’s wall. It didn’t look half as bad in the early evening light as it did right now. “Rob, I’m so sorry. Grab me some cloths and I’ll sort it!”

“No, it’s fine” he rushed.

“Okay,” Aaron snapped “we’ll go”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Aaron! I meant you don’t have to rush off. I just want you to stay!” he was getting frustrated. Nothing was coming out right and he was panicking. He took a deep breath “I really want you to stay!” Aaron could see he was feeling overwhelmed.

“Maybe we should have a chat” Aaron started walking to the kitchen to grab some more beer and Robert followed.

 

 

 


	6. Boys, Interrupted

Part way through the dinner at Home Farm, Jake realised he’d forgotten his CV. It’s not like there was much on it, but he really wanted to show he was taking it seriously. He’d told Chrissie who’d offered to drive him to his dad’s. He was going to rush in until he noticed two figures in the kitchen. Maybe his dad had taken his advice and got himself a date? He let himself in as quietly as possible. He had planned on just running into the office and grabbing his CV, but he couldn’t help but eavesdrop once he heard his dad.

“You make me nervous. I haven't learned to be around you without feeling this between us.”

“Rob…”

“Are you telling me you have? Is this all one sided?”

“No, but-”

“But what? But you just want to dismiss all of this?” 

“I’m not, Rob, but all we seem to do is make each other miserable!”

“You make me happy! Sitting in the dark with your wet dog stinking up the place has been the best night of my life in two years!”

“Rob” Aaron reached out, wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled Robert close. Robert finally felt grounded, his hands almost daring to reach out to gently rest against his hips.

“Jake, how long does it take to grab a piece of paper?” all three of them were pulled out of the conversation by Chrissie’s entrance. Aaron dropped his hand, while Robert turned to see his son stood sheepishly in front of the door to the office. He prickled with embarrassment. Almost-declarations of love were hard enough without your son and ex-wife listening in. “I’m sorry,” she started. She was flushed, this was definitely not what she was expecting to see. Robert could barely hold eye contact with anyone and his jaw clenched and unclenched so much, Aaron was worried he’d do himself some damage. “I-Jake forgot his CV and I was just- look, I really didn’t mean to interrupt,” Robert nodded “Jake, I’ll wait in the car.” As she left, Robert looked at his son. Jesus, pity barely even covered the look on his face. Jake was about to apologise when Aaron started.

“I should go.”

“No Aaron, wait! Please wait!”

“Rob, I’ve gotta go. Tommy!” the Alsatian looked up from his makeshift bed on Robert’s favourite rug and lumbered towards the door where Aaron stood, damp clothes in hand. “Thanks for the lift, Rob!” he just stared at the door Aaron had slammed.

“Dad, I didn’t mean to…I was just grabbing my CV. I didn’t mean to-”

“Listen in?” his father snapped.

“Dad…”

“Your Aunt’s still waiting. You should get going.”

“Dad, I'm really sorry” his eyes were prickling with tears and Robert sighed.

“Go with Chrissie and get this experience. It's fine, Jake. Go.” No venom in his voice, just sheer resignation. Jake nodded, went to grab his CV and quietly shuffled out to the car.

 

Robert stood in his kitchen, just stood there. Jesus, he was feeling overwhelmed. Aaron knew he was still pining for him. Fuck. So did Chrissie. How much had Jake heard? Was Aaron going to let him down gently when he pulled him close? Maybe he felt the same? Fuck, Robert needed to get that idea out of his head. He turned to look at the living room: a few beer bottles and crisp packets strewn across the coffee table and the mud left on the wall from Tommy. Well, he wasn’t going to sleep well tonight anyway so he may as well be productive. He grabbed a bucket and a sponge. Time to get to work.

He finished cleaning by about 2am and still felt no better. After a warm shower, he came out of the bathroom to see a text on his phone.

_Unknown Number: I had a good night too x_

He didn’t have Aaron’s number anymore, made it much harder to make a fool of himself after some whiskey without it. He didn’t realise Aaron still had his.

_R: I wish you’d stayed_

Maybe if he were less tired, he would have been more subtle, maybe he wouldn’t have answered right away.

_A: Life always gets in our way. Maybe we should learn from it._

_R: If you wanted us to learn, you wouldn’t have text_

_A: Lol_

Robert wanted to keep talking, but couldn’t think of what else to say when he got another text.

_A: It’s always fine when it’s just us_

_R: I really wish you’d stayed_

_A: Goodnight Rob x_

_R: Sleep well Aaron x_

Robert sighed to himself. This was a wound he wished he hadn’t opened and really didn’t want to shut.

 

 


	7. Playing Games and Returning Clothes

He'd been stood on the doorstep for a good five minutes, trying to prepare to get yelled at or something. Eventually, he bit the bullet and let himself in the house. His dad was sat playing Xbox, looking pretty relaxed and much less frazzled than the night before.

“Hi. So how did it go? You get the work experience?” Jake nodded and Robert grinned. “Well done, mate. I’m proud of you!” Jake sat himself down next to his dad wondering how to broach last night.

“Dad, I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mea-”

“Why don’t we just forget it happened?” Robert interrupted. He didn’t want to talk about it ever again. Aaron couldn't have left the house faster if he'd tried. Robert hadn't been so explicit about his feelings for Aaron since just after the divorce. Well, he supposes, it wasn't technically a divorce, but it felt like one. Aaron had text, but what if he was just being nice? He was always too good, especially to Robert. No matter how he felt, his son and ex wife had heard his grovelling. His pride could endure almost anything when it came to Aaron, but he was close to his limit after last night. “You’ve been worrying about me and stressing yourself out. It’s not your job to worry about me. Just focus on being a teenager, okay?” Jake bit his lip. “What?”

“Are you going to talk to him?” Robert considered feigning innocence and pretending he had no idea who Jake was referring to, but he didn't have the energy.

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Because not everything is that easy, Jake.”

“You said he made you happy. Why don’t you just swallow your pride and do something?” turns out the Sugdens had more than blonde hair and bone structure in common. Both were stubborn as mules.

They were pulled out of their row by a knock at the door. Robert cursed the timing and hoped Aaron hadn’t heard anything.

“Hi.” He breathed

“Hey, I just wanted to return these” Aaron held up a plastic bag with the clothes he’d borrowed last night. “I would’ve washed them, but I know how picky you are about your fancy conditioners.” Robert laughed at that and Jake took that as his cue to go.

“I’m going to Gem’s.”

“What time are you coming home?”

“I’ll got to mum’s” he called out on his way to the door.

“Jake!”

“Bye dad” the backdoor slammed and Robert sighed.

“Do you want these?” Aaron tried to hand over the clothes.

“Come in” Robert was pulling his phone out of his pocket “I’ve just gotta tell his mum to expect him home.” Aaron stepped over the threshold while Robert tapped away on his phone. He looked stressed. Again.

“Aren’t weekends supposed to be relaxing?”

“What?”

“You’ve not looked this harassed in a while.”

“I think Jake is the first person I’ve met as stubborn as me. No wonder I drive people mad.” Aaron smiled.

“You’re okay, though?” Robert moved to sit on the sofa and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Aaron moved to sit next to him. Robert offered him a cup of tea and Aaron eagerly accepted. Aaron didn’t really know what he was doing here, but he knew he wanted to stay.

 


	8. Playing Games and Trying to not Play Games

"Here we are, three sugars and milk." Aaron put down the XBOX controller and grabbed the tea.

"Cheers"

"I don't know if you should be thanking me. I feel like with three sugars, I'm helping with your own destruction. You never heard of diabetes, Aaron?" Aaron rolled his eyes, but it was still light. When they stopped stressing about saying the wrong thing, it felt like no time had passed whatsoever. The only reminders were the silver specks in Aaron's beard and the thinning of Robert's hair. Well, they were the only reminders when it was just them, and Aaron didn't want to think about the outside world right now.

"Do you have anything other than this? What's the point of a shooting game with puzzles? It's like it's trying to make me like jigsaws with the promise of shooting some Nazis after doing seven of them?" Robert laughed.

"I've got a great one! It's like a fantasy world wi-"

"Oh god. After what you had me watching last night, I'm not sure I trust your taste." Robert rolled his eyes and got up to grab a game.

"This more your style, Dingle?" he tossed over FIFA and Aaron raised his eyebrows.

"I was about to be impressed until I saw it was 3 years old."

"Yeah, Jake keeps the up to date one at his mum's. Turns out Chrissie and Andrew are a bit less hopeless at it than I am. They probably don't give him a clip round the ear every time he calls someone a 'fuckmook' on that bloody headset."

"A what? A 'fuckmook'?" Aaron giggled.

"Yeah, it's hilarious until you hear it 60 times in ten minutes."

"Ready to get thrashed, Sugden?" Robert smiled. 

"Don't get cocky, Dingle. You're going down."

 

Four cups of tea, and two hours into Robert being absolutely demolished at FIFA, he decided to brave a real conversation.

“I really enjoyed last night.” Aaron turned to look at him. Rob was concentrating far too hard on his abysmal Xbox skills to avoid his eyes.

“I did too” Robert finally looked up at him.

“I really do miss you, Aaron.” he smiled at Robert. The night before had reminded him how much fun they could have just chatting and today revived all the memories of just how effortless they could be. It almost felt like no time had passed between the pair of them. 

 

He shouldn't be selfish here, Aaron thought to himself. Just because it was always this simple between the two of them between four walls didn't erase the entire world outside. Still, he found himself wrapping a hand around the back of Robert's neck, his thumb gently stroking against his jawline. He saw Robert's eyes dart to his lips and realised that both of them were too far gone to be sensible about this. He pulled Robert close and gently pressed their lips together. Robert was eager and pushed his body against Aaron's so he was almost lying on top of him.

"Ah, Rob. Wait!" Robert ripped himself from Aaron instantly, searching his face for a clue about what he'd done wrong. Aaron smiled as he grabbed the Xbox controller out from under his back. Robert smiled, relieved he hadn't inadvertently ruined this. 

He was peppering kisses against Aaron's jaw, down to his neck, back to his lips. He wasn't trying to rush into anything, he was just trying to savour this. Aaron's hand was running through his hair, eyes closed, smiling through the kisses. It took him a little while to even realise his phone was ringing. He opened his eyes, planning to reach for his phone when he felt Robert's hand on his arm.

"Let it ring." he whispered in his ear and resumed the kisses along his jaw. Aaron didn't take much convincing, happily laying back down. He sighed when his phone started again. 

"Rob, pass me my phone" He grabbed it off the coffee table and went straight back to kissing Aaron, smiling as he saw him hushing him. “Adam, mate this isn’t the be- Is she okay?” Robert’s ears pricked up at that. He instantly sat up. The only woman in Adam’s life right now was Victoria. “Okay, I’ll be right there. No, don’t worry, I’ll collect Robert on the way. Yeah, I'm sure. Bye.” Robert was really panicked now. Adam and Vic had spent the past sixteen years trying to keep Robert as far away from Aaron as humanly possible. If they wanted them in a car together, something must really be wrong.

“What’s happened?”

“Vic’s been in an accident.” Robert’s breath hitched and he tried to scramble himself up from the sofa. Aaron placed his hands on Robert’s shoulders to steady him and sit him back down. “Shh, she’s okay. She’s conscious and stable. Some car slammed into the van and she’s got a couple of broken bones and she wants to see you. She’s okay.” He saw some of the panic dissipate from Robert’s face and gave him a little smile. “Come on, I’ll drive.”

The car journey was quiet, and Robert appreciated the occasional thigh squeeze Aaron gave whenever he started stressing himself out. He also couldn't help but think that it was a sign that Aaron wanted them to give it a shot properly. That it wasn't just giving in between four walls. Or was Aaron just being kind? Maybe Vic was in a worse way than he'd said? Maybe Adam braced him for something? Oh, there's another squeeze of the thigh. He raced out of the car and into the hospital. By the time Aaron caught up to him, he was sternly demanding a receptionist drop everything and tell him exactly where his sister was. Aaron mouthed an apology to the woman behind the desk and told him Adam had already given him the ward number.

Victoria’s face was a lot more scraped up than Robert was expected and he could barely contain his shock. She reassured him that it looked worse than it was and that the doctor was expecting a pretty easy recovery. Aaron gave an exhausted looking Adam a hug at the door while Robert grilled Victoria about what the police said, if she needed anything, if the doctors were doing a good enough job.

"Robert, I can survive a broken collar bone and a shattered wrist. We're not all as dramatic as you!" she smirked. Aaron and Adam both snorted while Robert told her that most people would be grateful to have such concerned family rather than mock. 

"Aaron, Mate, do us a favour and have a look at the van when you have a minute, yeah? Worst comes to worst, it should make a pretty penny in scrap."

"Yeah, course. I'll check first thing in the morning." Despite Victoria seemingly desperate to see the pair of them, it only took about 10 minutes for her to be too tired to even attempt conversation with her brother and Aaron so they said their goodbyes.

"Thanks for coming, Aaron" she yawned.

"Feel better soon, Vic." he turned to Adam "you need a lift back to the village?" Robert selfishly cursed Aaron for asking. He knew it was the right thing to do, but he didn't really want his brother-in-law around when he felt that he and Aaron still had some talking to do. 

"Nah, mate. I want to stay here a bit longer and I drove here anyway. No point making any extra trips, eh?". Robert gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and nodded at Adam as he strode back towards the car park. 

He felt so relieved that Victoria was okay, but it made Robert realise just how tired he really was. Aaron noticed the slump in Robert’s shoulders on the walk back to the car and didn’t miss him rubbing his eyes once he’d got into the front seat.

“Are you okay?”

“Just tired. That’s all” Robert tried to give a little smile, but Aaron wasn’t buying it. Still, he left it be for now.

As they approached Robert’s house, Aaron debated pulling into the drive or just pulling up to the pavement when the man started speaking.

“I’ve got some leftover pizza if you wanna come in? It’s been a long day, you may as well have something to eat.”

“It better not have pineapple” Aaron smiled as he made his way to the drive.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
